The present invention relates to holders for lipstick and other cosmetic sticks and, more particularly, to a lipstick holder in which the cover is an integral part thereof and may be opened by one hand in the same motion which moves the cosmetic stick into its exposed position.
In Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,096 of Dec. 15, 1992, there is disclosed a unitary holder in which the user can open an integral cover and project the lipstick or other cosmetic stick into a usable position by manipulation with one hand in simple easy motions. Other patents which disclose unitary assemblies include Richter U.S. Pat. No. 2,002,716, Fullmer et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,091,312, Satz et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,404,815, Chabbert U.S. Pat. No. 2,463,086, Tursky U.S. Pat. No. 2,552,697, Calhoun U.S. Pat. No. 2,610,732 and Gruska U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,618.
Although Applicant's prior lipstick holder offers considerable advantages, the number of pieces required in the assembly and the resultant assembly operation have proven to be impediments to economical implementation in commercial structures. Because such holders are of necessity low cost, it is generally necessary that the number of parts be limited and be relatively simple to fabricate even though the structure may offer significant advantages in terms of ease of use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel unitary lipstick holder which may be readily manipulated by one hand to project and retract the lipstick or other cosmetic stick.
It is also an object to provide such a cosmetic stick holder which is simple and relatively economical to fabricate and which may be readily and simply assembled.
Another object is to provide such a cosmetic stick holder which requires a minimum of separate components.
A further object is to provide such a holder which lends itself to modification in external appearance since the housing may be readily and simply formed from a variety of materials.